Otto I

Otto I, 1815–67, first king of the Hellenes (1833–62). The second son of King Louis I of Bavaria, he was chosen (1832) by a conference of European powers at London to rule newly independent Greece. He ascended the throne under a highly unpopular regency of Bavarians. A military coup (1843) forced a constitution on the king. His authority was further weakened when Greece sought to attack Turkey in 1854 after the outbreak of the Crimean War; France and Britain as a result occupied the port of Piraeus (Piraiévs). The king's attempts to discard the constitution led to another military revolt (1862) and to his deposition. In 1863 the Greeks chose a Danish prince to become their king as George I.